Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis raised doubts on Tuesday the GOP could pass its megabill by its self-imposed Independence Day deadline.
Curtis, speaking at the POLITICO Energy Summit in Washington, said, “I think a lot of us would be surprised if it passed by July 4.”
He added: “I think that’s a false deadline. I don’t think that we need to put a specific deadline on it. Let’s get it right.”
Curtis, who has been pushing for specific changes to the House-passed tax cut, energy and security spending budget bill, said the package would unfairly phase out tax credits from the Democrats’ 2022 climate law. He said the rollbacks could harm energy workers and the economy.
“I think that banks, the investors have invested billions of dollars based on the rules of the road, and you have employees who have set careers based on these things,” he said.
“And if they’re to go, and I do think some of them should go. … Let’s just be thoughtful in how we phase them out,” Curtis said. “Let’s not destroy careers and things like that.” As an example, Curtis said he’s pushing for changes to the construction start date language.
The senator’s comments come as colleagues hash out details over contentious matters including renewable energy incentives, Medicaid changes and other provisions.
The comments by Curtis, a relative moderate, underscore how difficult it could be for President Donald Trump and congressional leaders to get all Republicans in line before July.
Asked if Elon Musk’s recent opposition to the megabill because of deficit concerns could upend the effort, Curtis downplayed the billionaire’s influence among Republican senators and suggested he does not appreciate how slowly government operates.
“If he would stop and slow down and realize the way Washington works, because what he does with a business is very different in the culture and everything is so different than what we do in Washington, D.C.,” Curtis said, adding, “There’s a lot we could learn from him and vice versa.”
Curtis also said he was unsure exactly why Musk hates the bill. “I’m a U.S. senator voting on this bill, and I don’t know why he hates it. You can see how he’s missed an opportunity.”
More broadly, Curtis suggested Democrats were partly to blame for demonizing the fossil fuel industry — leading to Trump having an “overreaction” on energy policy and rhetoric.
“I think what you’re sensing is an overreaction to the demonizing that we’ve had of fossil fuels and how they should be 100 percent eliminated, and perhaps what you’re seeing is simply a reaction to that to say, ‘Wait a minute.’”
Curtis said the reality is that energy demand for the coming decades will require renewables and fossil fuels as well as emerging technologies.
“I believe for us to get to our energy future, we’re going to need 100 percent of everything,” he said.